‘Art is my language’: Afghan cultural production challenging Islamophobic stereotypes

Ghani, B; Fiske, L

‘Art is my language’: Afghan cultural production challenging Islamophobic stereotypes

Ghani, B Fiske, L

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Sociology, 2019
Issue Date:: 2019-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ghani, B	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fiske, L https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7922-081X	en_US
dc.date.issued	2019-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Sociology, 2019	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1440-7833	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/136838
dc.description.abstract	© The Author(s) 2019. Afghans and Afghanistan have, since September 11, risen to prominence in Western popular imagination as a land of tradition, tribalism and violence. Afghan women are assumed to be silent, submissive, and terrorised by Afghan men, who are seen as violent patriarchs driven by an uncompromising mediaeval religion. These Islamophobic tropes also inform perceptions of Afghans seeking asylum. In transit, identities are further reduced; asylum seekers lose even a national identity and become a Muslim threat – criminals, terrorists or invaders. These narrative frames permeate political discourse, media, and reports of non-governmental organisations (seeking donor funds to ‘save’ Afghan women). Drawing on fieldwork in Afghanistan and Indonesia, this article looks at how Afghans in Kabul and Indonesia are using art and other forms of cultural production to challenge over-simplified hegemonic narratives in the West, to open spaces for dialogue and expression within their own communities, and to offer a more nuanced account of their own identities.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Sociology	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/1440783319882536	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Sociology	en_US
dc.title	‘Art is my language’: Afghan cultural production challenging Islamophobic stereotypes	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1608 Sociology	en_US
utslib.for	2002 Cultural Studies	en_US
utslib.for	1606 Political Science	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/e-Press
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Social and Political Sciences Program
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US

Abstract:

© The Author(s) 2019. Afghans and Afghanistan have, since September 11, risen to prominence in Western popular imagination as a land of tradition, tribalism and violence. Afghan women are assumed to be silent, submissive, and terrorised by Afghan men, who are seen as violent patriarchs driven by an uncompromising mediaeval religion. These Islamophobic tropes also inform perceptions of Afghans seeking asylum. In transit, identities are further reduced; asylum seekers lose even a national identity and become a Muslim threat – criminals, terrorists or invaders. These narrative frames permeate political discourse, media, and reports of non-governmental organisations (seeking donor funds to ‘save’ Afghan women). Drawing on fieldwork in Afghanistan and Indonesia, this article looks at how Afghans in Kabul and Indonesia are using art and other forms of cultural production to challenge over-simplified hegemonic narratives in the West, to open spaces for dialogue and expression within their own communities, and to offer a more nuanced account of their own identities.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/136838